Humans need water, food, medicine and shelter to survive, such basic items can be difficult to obtain in certain areas of the world or immediately after a natural or man-made disaster. A drought can result in the loss of potable water, a war can result in a lack of medicine, a hurricane can result in the loss of shelter, and so forth. While providing relief supplies to such areas is critical, it is even more critical to eliminate waste packaging as it can be prohibitively expensive to transport such supplies. In many instances, portable water is provided in containers, the containers are discarded after use. Conventional construction materials such as building blocks are very expensive to ship but necessary if a sound building structure is desired. Structures made of wood might be lighter for shipping but requires drywall, insulation, and siding to match the efficiency of the cement block thus making the shipping weight and costs about the same. In fact, there are numerous reasons why a conventional structure cannot be built in such a region including shipping costs, material costs, skilled labor costs and so forth. Further, in many instances there is an immediate need for shelter and waiting for construction materials, skilled labor or the right conditions can make the wait impractical. For instance, troops who establish a base camp in a hostile area do not have the luxury of having a conventional structure made for them. In such instances, troops will use anything at their disposal to create a shelter from the elements and hostiles.
For example, current areas of the world include hostiles making any attempt to dig a well, or shelter a life threatening event. In such instances, the troops may need to build a bunker for short term security. If the entire area is hostile, such as what the troops are encountering in Afghanistan, it is impossible to grow food or build any structure other than a basic tent enclosure. Such areas are completely dependant upon incoming supplies for all aspects of human survival. Hostile areas are not alone in the lack of water, food and building structures. Remote areas of the world suffering through food and water shortages, such as Mkuze, South Africa, also require water and construction materials to be brought in from other areas.
Further, emergency relief due to hurricane, flood, fire, drought or any other natural disaster results in the absolute lack of basic necessities. Recently, such events as Hurricane Katrina, the tornadoes and floods in the Midwest, the western states having a lack of water, or the eastern states having depressed economies such as West Virginia, all need water, food, medicine, staples, and construction materials delivered in time of need. Unfortunately, the shipping materials are typically discarded after use leading to environmental pollution.
It has been found that the use of containers can be used in various types of construction techniques from toys to small buildings. The teachings provide a concept but not a realistic solution. In reality, the shipping of the container filled with a material requires support although not in a similar manner to the use of the storage containers in a construction arrangement. For instance, in shipping of the containers the need for interlocking is important to prevent load shifting during transportation. However, once the container has arrived, the contents consumed, the shipping container may not make the preferred building block.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,194,426 is the earliest located patent that provides for interconnecting of containers. These interlocking containers do not provide for stacking and there is no ability to conceal or interlock the openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,824 discloses a method of stacking containers by nesting of the openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,408 discloses yet another container that allows for nesting wherein every other container is inverted to allow for interlocking. However, this device does not provide for construction stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,383 is the first patent located wherein the plastic containers are to be used as building blocks. This patent is now expired and free for the public to reuse. The patent is limited to a tongue and groove type attachment between the bottles and states that possible use in construction includes sheds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,816 discloses a plastic container that can be filled with a fluid and used as a building block after the fluid is emptied from the container. This patent fails to disclose the use of reinforcing elements between the containers when employed as building blocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,549 issued in '2001 shows a method of using bottles both on a side by side relationship as well as for interconnecting end pieces.
Thus what is needed in the art is a container that can be utilized as a construction block for use in the building of bunkers, retention walls, small homes, and the like, structures for the protection of humans or their property.